Taylor Armstrong Before Photos

We’re almost midway through the second season of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, so what better time to bring you some more old school/before they were famous photos of your favorite BH housewives!

Taylor Armstrong and her now deceased husbandRussell Armstrong grace the latest cover of UsWeekly magazine under the heading “Reality Suicide Dark Secrets Exposed, Destroyed by Their Pursuit of Fame.”

While the mag touches on a lot of issues with the couple, perhaps the most shocking tidbit is the fact that Taylor, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, might have tried to capitalize on the tragic death of Russell. UsWeekly reports that Taylor’s rep “tried to shop her story to press outlets for $100,000.” Wow. One can only assume the rep was doing this with Taylor’s consent.

An insider also tells UsWeekly that in the days following Russell’s death, Taylor was asking how much money she would get from his estate. Russell’s attorney has however publicly stated Russell was broke and had no assets at the time of his death.

The mag touches on how the Armstrongs lived beyond their means while pursuing fame. In fact, family and friends of the duo paint a portrait of an ambitious, financially overextended couple desperate to be on TV and to live in the most coveted zip code at all costs.

Russell’s sister Laurie Kelsoe spoke to the mag stating that proud trophy wife Taylor was desperate to be on RHOBH: “It was all she wanted.” A show insider adds that the Oklahoma native, who bragged about her frequent cosmetic procedures and threw her daughter a $60,000 birthday party last season, “had a need to prove she was worthy.”

However it wasn’t just Taylor, whose opening credits for season 2 was intended to be “I fought too hard for this zip code to go home now,” who wanted fame. Russell was also on board for the ride. “He thought it was a good way for them to make money,” adds the source. This falls in line with a comment Russell made in one of his last interviews in which he called Bravo “bastards” while stating publicity from the show was good for his businesses.

And in other to get on the show, Taylor and Russell exaggerated their wealth. “Bravo cast them because they claimed they owned their house and had a real estate portfolio and major businesses. None of it was true,” says a source. The Armstrongs apparently pretended to own their modest $9,000-a-month rental house in L.A.’s Bel Air Crest neighborhood.

Once she joined the show, Taylor tried to keep up with the Joneses. “She was jealous of the way the other women on the show were living,” says a Taylor source. Laurie goes on to add that Taylor racked up a $90,000 American Express bill in July alone. “Russell was spending more than he made,” says his lawyer Ronald Richards. “He maxed out his credit cards.”

Russell’s grieving business partner John Indelicato however brings up a good point in the article when he wonders why Russell ever sought the spotlight: “If you have skeletons and don’t want them out there, you don’t go on a reality show.” Very valid point.

While it appears there were no takers for the $100,000 interview Taylor’s rep was shopping around, the NY Post is reporting today that Taylor is in talks with Bravo about doing an hour long sit-down interview.

“Bravo wants to do a sit-down, one-hour special with [Bravo exec VP and host] Andy Cohen,” said a source. Another source added, “They’ve been discussing options for a week, but no programming has been formalized.”

And while a Bravo rep tried to deny the report by stating, “It’s not true, there are no plans like that,” it seems they forgot to send a memo to Taylor’s rep who confirmed there had been talks. “There is dialogue with Bravo, but no decisions have been made. Anything would be conjecture,” said Taylor’s rep.

The Post used the words “negotiating for an interview” so it would appear there is money involved. Taylor’s rep however makes it clear her client is still grieving over her loss. The rep states Taylor is “still devastated” and hasn’t personally engaged in any talks.

And finally, the current issue of the National Enquirer posted some older photos of Taylor and Russell together including photos of Russell’s sons from his previous relationships. Those photos are below. You can read more about the couple in the current issues of UsWeekly and the National Enquirer. Photo credit: WENN.

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Russell and Taylor Amrstrong with Prince Charles in 2007

Russell Armstrong’s sons from previous relationships alongside Taylor and daughter Kennedy at a family Christmas outing.

Below are way more before they were famous photos including one of Adrienne Maloof before plastic surgery, well before most of the plastic surgeries (she looked much nicer by the way), plus some high school photos of Taylor Armstrong, bikini shots of Kyle Richards and Lisa, Camille Grammer before she became a villain and a much younger foxier Kim Richards.